Mold in AP Closed Chamber?

peridot

Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2019
Messages
77
Location (City and/or State)
NC
I noticed that I have (what looks like) mold growing in my Animal Plastics closed chamber!

Has anyone ever had this issue before? I was shocked to notice this at the top of the plastic! I thought this didn’t generally happen with this type of material?! Each side and back does have slits.

What is the safest way to clean this?
 

Attachments

  • 604B119F-B76B-4D3B-8FFF-7854784FB361.jpeg
    604B119F-B76B-4D3B-8FFF-7854784FB361.jpeg
    736.7 KB · Views: 20

zovick

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Nov 17, 2013
Messages
3,388
I noticed that I have (what looks like) mold growing in my Animal Plastics closed chamber!

Has anyone ever had this issue before? I was shocked to notice this at the top of the plastic! I thought this didn’t generally happen with this type of material?! Each side and back does have slits.

What is the safest way to clean this?
You could probably wipe it off with alcohol or a diluted bleach solution (2 teaspoons bleach to 2 cups of water or 1/3 cup bleach to 1 gallon of water). Either alcohol or bleach should kill the mold fairly well. You might have to do this periodically to keep mold down in a warm, humid, closed chamber environment which is a veritable breeding ground for such things.
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,269
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
I noticed that I have (what looks like) mold growing in my Animal Plastics closed chamber!

Has anyone ever had this issue before? I was shocked to notice this at the top of the plastic! I thought this didn’t generally happen with this type of material?! Each side and back does have slits.

What is the safest way to clean this?
I've never had that in any of mine, but mine are the sliding door type. I wonder if the hinged doors allow less ventilation? In any case, Zovick's suggestions will solve the problem.
 

peridot

Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2019
Messages
77
Location (City and/or State)
NC
You could probably wipe it off with alcohol or a diluted bleach solution (2 teaspoons bleach to 2 cups of water or 1/3 cup bleach to 1 gallon of water). Either alcohol or bleach should kill the mold fairly well. You might have to do this periodically to keep mold down in a warm, humid, closed chamber environment which is a veritable breeding ground for such things.

Ok! I’ll try that! How long should I keep my tort out of the enclosure after I do something like this?
 

peridot

Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2019
Messages
77
Location (City and/or State)
NC
I've never had that in any of mine, but mine are the sliding door type. I wonder if the hinged doors allow less ventilation? In any case, Zovick's suggestions will solve the problem.

Yeah! I have one with sliding doors that is fine, but this one has hinged doors and is having issues!
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,269
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
Yeah! I have one with sliding doors that is fine, but this one has hinged doors and is having issues!
I was also wondering if my super dry climate was a factor, but apparently not since you aren't having a problem with the sliding door models there either. This is good info to have. I didn't realize there was any difference between the two door types.
 

zovick

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Nov 17, 2013
Messages
3,388
Ok! I’ll try that! How long should I keep my tort out of the enclosure after I do something like this?
I usually used bleach for this, doing it in the morning, then rinsed the area with plain water and let it dry for a few hours. The tortoises were put back into the enclosures late the afternoon of the same day or the next morning. If your only spot with mold is an upper corner where the tortoise won't contact the treated area directly, you can probably put the tortoise back in sooner than that, maybe in an hour or as soon as the bleach odor is gone.

If you use alcohol, it's probably safe to put the tortoise back once it dries and the smell dissipates, which is probably an hour or less.
 
Top